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Hamas calls for Yarmouk refugee camp in Syria to be rebuilt

July 22, 2020 at 9:40 am

Smoke rises from air strikes carried out by the Assad regime in the Yarmouk refugee camp in Syria where Palestinian refugees take shelter on 24 April 2018 [Rami Alsayed/Anadolu Agency]

The Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement called on Tuesday for the rebuilding of Yarmouk refugee camp in Damascus to be speeded up so that residents can return, a senior official has said.

Raafat Morra commented on the plan to rebuild the refugee camp and stressed the importance of the refugees being allowed to go back to their homes from which they have been displaced. The camp represents safety and security for them, he pointed out, and so rebuilding the camp is a humanitarian and social necessity.

The Hamas official rejected any changes to the refugee camp or ownership of the land. Yarmouk, explained Morra, is a symbol for the Palestinian presence in Syria and, indeed, for all Palestinian refugees and their identity and culture.

Meanwhile, he called for the UN Agency which caters for Palestine refugees, UNRWA, to carry out its duties towards those in Syria, including the distribution of food and other humanitarian essentials.

READ: Yarmouk is moving from being a refugee camp to a Damascus neighbourhood